# United States Department of Justice Civil Division

The United States Department of Justice Civil Division represents the United States, its departments and agencies, members of Congress, cabinet officers, and other federal employees. Led by the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, the Division's litigation reflects the diversity of government activities, involving, for example, the defense of challenges to presidential actions; national security issues; benefit programs; energy policies; commercial issues such as contract disputes, banking insurance, patents, fraud, and debt collection; all manner of accident and liability claims; enforcement of immigration laws; and civil and criminal violations of consumer protection laws. Each year, Division attorneys handle thousands of cases that collectively involve billions of dollars in claims and recoveries. The Division confronts significant policy issues, which often rise to constitutional dimensions, in defending and enforcing various Federal programs and actions.
In April 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Javier Guzman to lead the division as Assistant Attorney General. That nomination was withdrawn on July 20, 2021.

## Organization

The Civil Division is made up of the following offices:
* Appellate Staff
* Commercial Litigation Branch
** Civil Fraud Section
** General Corporate/Financial Litigation Section
** Intellectual Property Section
** Foreign Litigation Section
** National Courts Section
* Consumer Protection Branch
* Federal Programs Branch
** National Security, Foreign Relations, and Law Enforcement Section
** Interstate and Foreign Commerce Section
** Government Agencies and Corporations Section
** Nondiscrimination Personnel Litigation Section
** Discrimination in Employment Litigation Section
** Human Resources Section
** Interior, Agriculture, and Energy Concerns Section
** Housing and Community Development Section
** Freedom of Information and Privacy Section
** Regulatory Enforcement and Defensive Banking Litigation Section
** Disability Litigation Section
* Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL)
** Appellate Section
** District Court Section
* Office of Management Programs
* Torts Branch
** Aviation, Space & Admiralty Section
** Federal Tort Claims Act Section
** Environmental Torts Section
** Constitutional and Specialized Torts Section
** Tobacco Litigation Section

## List of assistant attorneys general

| # | Name | Term began | Term ended | President(s) served under |
| 1 | Charles B. Rugg | 1930 | 1933 | Herbert Hoover |
| 2 | George C. Sweeney | 1933 | 1935 | Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
| 3 | Angus D. MacLean | 1935 | | Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
| 4 | James W. Morris | 1935 | 1937 | Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
| 5 | Sam E. Whitaker | 1937 | 1939 | Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
| 6 | Francis M. Shea | 1939 | 1945 | Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
| 7 | John F. Sonnett | 1945 | 1947 | Harry S. Truman |
| 8 | Peyton Ford | 1947 | 1949 | Harry S. Truman |
| 9 | H. Graham Morison | 1949 | 1951 | Harry S. Truman |
| 10 | Holmes Baldridge | 1951 | 1953 | Harry S. Truman |
| 11 | Warren E. Burger | 1953 | 1956 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 12 | George Cochran Doub | 1956 | 1960 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 13 | William Horsley Orrick Jr. | 1961 | 1963 | John F. Kennedy |
| 14 | John W. Douglas | 1963 | 1966 | John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 15 | H. Barefoot Sanders Jr. | 1966 | 1967 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 16 | Edwin L. Weisl Jr. | 1967 | 1969 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 17 | William Ruckelshaus | 1969 | 1970 | Richard M. Nixon |
| 18 | L. Patrick Gray | 1970 | 1972 | Richard M. Nixon |
| 19 | Harlington Wood Jr. | 1972 | 1973 | Richard M. Nixon |
| 20 | Carla Anderson Hills | 1973 | 1975 | Richard M. Nixon |
| 21 | Rex E. Lee | 1975 | 1977 | Gerald R. Ford |
| 22 | Barbara A. Babcock | 1977 | 1979 | Jimmy Carter |
| 23 | Alice Daniels | 1979 | 1981 | Jimmy Carter |
| 24 | Paul J. McGrath | 1981 | 1985 | Ronald Reagan |
| 25 | Richard K. Willard | 1985 | 1988 | Ronald Reagan |
| 26 | John R. Bolton | 1988 | 1989 | Ronald Reagan |
| 27 | Stuart M. Gerson | 1989 | 1993 | George H. W. Bush |
| 28 | Frank W. Hunger | 1993 | 1999 | Bill Clinton |
| 29 | David W. Ogden | 1999 | 2001 | Bill Clinton |
| 30 | Robert D. McCallum Jr. | 2001 | 2003 | George W. Bush |
| 31 | Peter D. Keisler | 2003 | 2007 | George W. Bush |
| 32 | Gregory G. Katsas | 2008 | 2009 | George W. Bush |
| 33 | Tony West | 2009 | 2012 | Barack Obama |
| 34 | Stuart F. Delery | 2012 | 2016 | Barack Obama |
| — | Benjamin C. Mizer (acting) | 2016 | 2017 | Barack Obama |
| — | Chad Readler (acting) | 2017 | 2018 | Donald Trump |
| 35 | Jody Hunt | 2018 | 2020 | Donald Trump |
| — | Ethan P. Davis (acting) | 2020 | 2020 | Donald Trump |
| — | Jeffrey Clark (acting) | 2020 | 2021 | Donald Trump |
| — | Brian Boynton (acting) | 2021 | present | Joe Biden |
| Source: |||||